<http://bp1.blogger.com/_0bZ1KPLegkk/SI06WPoesZI/AAAAAAAAHrg/UoUw_UvAo...>“Here
is where the chapel will be built.”

<http://bp3.blogger.com/_0bZ1KPLegkk/SI06WQgH3iI/AAAAAAAAHro/C7YsU1W30...>“We
heard him shout the word Miracle!”

<http://bp1.blogger.com/_0bZ1KPLegkk/SI03hmws9gI/AAAAAAAAHrQ/tUUAHpsa9...>

Miracle! Miracle!
Miracle! Miracle!

 A little after 9:00 in the evening, the second session of that
unforgettable day begins. Once again the four girls assemble in the church
and before the main altar fall into ecstasy. They breathe deeply. Then they
laugh, except for Conchita; she speaks, «Yes, as you wish, as you command .
. . We don't care what direction we go. As you say . . . But we haven't
given any proof, and the people don't believe.»

Toward 9:40 they get up and leave the church in an ecstatic march. They stop
at those locations in the village where ecstasies had taken place, and
they pray
there . . .

Never had stations been made with such devotion in Garabandal. The people
who silently followed the girls during their marches and devotedly accompanied
them in their prayers were as if taken up by supernatural emotion. It seemed
like the way of the Lord, the way of mercy for that village until then so
lost and forgotten. Here the footsteps of God and the Virgin traced their
way to people regarded as nothing by the world.

In contrast to this world in a rush to secularization, what a night at
Garabandal! And it was not the only one. It appeared destined to
consecrate everything—the
streets, the corners, the houses, the lonely trails, the quiet fields, the
starry skies. In all the places where it could, heaven made contact with the
earth; and in all the places it could, the inept human creature raised
himself up to the one who watches in all places, near and far across a subtle
veil.

Oh noche que guiaste! In a tremulous silence, under an infinite summer sky,
all that could be heard were the prayer at the stations and the rhythmic
footsteps of the four girls locking arms while in rapture.

Toward the end of the march they were heard to say, «On what day will we see
you again, so that the people may come? . . . The people say that this is a
sickness of ours, and the young boys have thrown stones at us . . . Well, if
you are happy with us, it doesn't matter.»

And when it seemed that everything was going to end, they undertook an
ascent to the Pines that all the witnesses have classified as impressive not
only on account of the appearance of the four girls, but also because of the
speed and lightness of their march.

On arriving at the top, Loli, who seemed to be trembling a little, said
while talking with the Vision, «Yes, here is where the chapel will be built
. . . This is a good spot . . . Should we stayhere?»(18) And they knelt
down.

They sang a hymn to St. Michael. They kissed something in the air . . . And
it was at this moment when Father Luis María Andreu . . . Let us listen to
the testimony of Raphael Fontaneda:

«At the Pines, Father Luis was watching the girls closely. It appeared that
he didn't wish to lose a single detail of what was taking place.

Suddenly we observed a tremendous excitement sweep over him, and four
times—obviously overwhelmed— we heard him shout the word Miracle!»(19)

__________

Not only were the spectators able to observe Father Luis' trance; the girls,
swept away from the normal world of the senses, saw him also. This was the
first and only time that any person besides the visionaries came into their
field of vision.

At the end of the rosary, the four of us were in ecstasy. And we began to
walk toward the Pines. And when we arrived there Father Luis María
said,Miracle! Miracle!

And he was looking upwards.
We saw him ourselves.
And in our ecstasies we have never seen anyone except the Virgin.
And we saw Father Luis.
And the Virgin told us that he was seeing her and the Miracle.(20)

Several days later Father Ramón María, who had not been in Garabandal on
August 8th, learned from the girls something more about the vision of his
brother: «He was kneeling with us, drops of shining perspiration on his
forehead; and the Virgin was looking at him . . . She seemed to be
saying to him,
Very soon you will be at my side.»

It was about 10:00 at night. Father Luis came back to normal and «the girls
began the descent, saying in ecstasy that they were going to the church.
They said this as they usually did in their conversation with the Virgin . .
. Father Royo Marín advised those present to run to the church since,
according to his expression, The girls had wings on their feet.» (Testimony
of Raphael Fontaneda)

If the ascent had been rapid, the descent was almost vertiginous. It is not
surprising that the girls lost two rosaries from the ones that had been
entrusted to them to present to the Virgin to kiss. One of these belonged to
a seminarian. Conchita, who was the one to whom he had given it, mentioned
it in the church: she was heard to say, «I lost the rosary . . . The one
belonging to the student . . . I feel bad about it. Should I go back? . . .
Oh . . . Where did I drop it? . . . Up there? . . . Higher than where we saw
you? Oh!»

The other belonged to Father Luis. His was not an ordinary rosary but one of
those that were beginning to be used at the time, shaped like a ring, with a
cross on top and ten small protrusions to count the Hail Marys. It is put on
the index finger on which it is revolved with the thumb. On leaving the
church, Loli went up to Father, I've lost your rosary, but the Virgin has
told me where it is; Let's go find it. Julia, the mother of the girl, heard
this and objected. No, not today, since it is already late. Wait until
tomorrow and when there is daylight you can find it.

Father Luis immediately approved Julia's sensible decision, and a little
while later said to the girl, Loli, I'm going to leave tonight; when you
find the rosary, don't tell anyone except my brother Ramón. If I don't come
back, he surely will.

Not many hours later, the hidden prophetic meaning of those words would be
revealed. The little rosary was found at the exact location that the Virgin
had indicated; but its owner would no longer have a need for it.

The miraculous finale of that unforgettable August 8th, Conchita gives us in
her diary:

The people said that we prayed a Credo at the Pines.
That day was the first in which the Virgin taught us to pray.(21)
And we went down to the village in the same state.
And when we arrived at the church, the Virgin left our view.
As the Virgin had not appeared to Mari Cruz for several days, she stayed in
ecstasy with the Virgin.
And she went into the church.
And before the altar of the Virgin of the Rosary and St. Michael the
Archangel, she began to pray the Creed with the Virgin very slowly.
And Mari Cruz said that the Virgin said the prayer ahead of her in order to
teach her to pray slowly.
After the Credo, she prayed a Salve.
And then she made the sign of the cross very slowly, very well. And she
talked with the Virgin, and said, Oh, how good that the Infant Jesus comes.
How long it has been since He has come.
Why do you wait so long to come to me and come more often to the others?(22)

This was heard by several people who were close to her: among them were Fr.
Luis María Andreu, a seminarian, and Fr. Royo Marín.

18. According to information given to me, on the first day that the girls
fell into ecstasy at the Pines — a date that I have not been able to
identify with certainty — Conchita was heard to say among other things:
«It seems that I was taken up, without knowing where, to this place . . . I
know the name of the Angel: St. Michael. The same as my brother; but my
brother without the Saint . . . Then, the chapel will be here . . . But it
can't be done here! . . . I don't know how it is going to be done here.»
Recently I questioned Jacinta:
—Did the Virgin tell you anything about the things that should be done here
in the village, as for example chapels, a way of the cross?
—From what I remember, the only thing that she asked for explicitly was a
chapel dedicated to St. Michael.
—Where? In the place where the chapel is now?
—No, at the Pines.
—When should it be built?
—When the Church permits it.

19. Father Ramón was also astounded when they told him about this since he
knew that his brother was known for being a calm person, and he himself
could never remember having seen his brother in a state of excitement.

20. This does not refer to a miracle, but to THE MIRACLE. The visionaries,
especially Conchita, have repeatedly spoken of it. It is something still to
be realized, a very important chapter in the history of Garabandal, still
sealed in suspense. What she is telling us in this episode about Father Luis
María Andreu is that on that night of August 8th, 1961, he was able to
view beforehand,
by a most singular favor of the Virgin what neither the visionaries nor
anyone else has as yet seen, although it has been foretold for everyone.

What we will see then—when the great day arrives—or whom we will see is
still a mystery . . . The fact that Fr. Luis was not able to survive after
his ecstasy at the Pines might make us recall this passage from Exodus (33:
18-20):
Moses said: Show me Your Glory. I beseech you.
And God answered, I will let My splendor pass in front of you, and I
will pronounce
My name before you.
I have compassion on whomever I will. And I show pity to whomever I please.
You cannot see My face, for man cannot see Me and live.

How can the fragile and weak human creature contemplate the Supreme
Being—Who infinitely surpasses man— without disintegrating?

But the desire remains, and we can only repeat Moses' request and the
passionate urge of St. John of the Cross:
Reveal Your presence.
And show me the beauty of Your face.
Regard the suffering of love
That can only be healed by Your presence,
And your countenance.

God alone can strengthen us to contemplate his marvels.

21. From the beginning the Virgin taught the girls to do all things well,
especially those things more directly concerned with God; and she instructed
them above all in their way of acting. It seems that on this day she began a
more complete course of instruction on this theme, adding explanations by word
and lessons by her example.

If the reader has previously encountered in Chapter 5 many of the things
that are now being brought forth, it should be understood that Chapter 5
attempted to present in advance a panoramic view of what the summer of 1961
was like in San Sebastián de Garabandal.

22. Of the four visionaries, Mari Cruz was the one who had the least number
of apparitions and the first one from whom they were taken away. Why is
this? God alone can answer this question.

And no disfavor to the girl can be concluded from this, since if it is true
that there may be human obstacles to the Divine Action, it is also true that
God can distribute His gifts to whomever He pleases, without doing wrong to
anyone. The inequality can be recalled with which He acted toward the children
in the communications at Fatima.

Because of this, could there have formed in the heart of Mari Cruz a form of
bitterness or even envy to which the many visitors contributed by their
preferences for the other girls? At present we do not have information to
answer this.

"May the Lord grant all your prayers!" (Psalm 20)
Deacon John
http://www.google.com/profiles/deaconjohn1987